Well I figured the best way to get a new perspective on things was to have someone else read this thread and tell me what he thought, so I had my coworker do just that. The only thing of any real substance he had so say about it was that in print, it seems I come off as a bit arrogant, which he said I'm not actually like at all in person. I guess that's thanks to the limits of printed conversation which, without the benefit of tone of voice, facial expression, etc., can throw off misinterpretations of the typer's attitude.
So I guess you'll have to take his word for it--or rather, my rendition of his word--that I'm actually a pretty nice, fun, easy-going guy in person.
Now, to answer your question: No, I cannot explain specifically what features I'm looking for. That's because I don't actually know myself. I'll have to evaluate each product as it's suggested and either accept or reject each one individually.
The closest I can come to being specific is to go back to my original post: "free PDR-type product that can be used on PDA-type devices".
So far, there has been only one product suggested that meets all of that: Epocrates. I apologize if my rejection of that product offends anyone, yet I have evaluated it and determined that I still hope to find something better. I have rejected it for two reasons as I have already stated: 1. It is incomplete, both in the sense that it is missing one specific brand name that is common in my experience, and that, by the company's numbers, it has at least 600 fewer drugs than the PDR; 2. It does not have (that I can find) a simple explanation for each drug of what that drug's intended use or purpose is.
Fortunately, in my position as an EMT-B EVO, I do not need this type of product or its information. That is why I'm not willing to pay for it. Knowing this stuff is the responsibility of the paramedic and/or nurse that I drive around. I seek such a product solely for my own curiosity and education. The more I know about something, the easier it is for me to remember stuff about that something. For example, I could never memorize a simple list of which drugs need to get programmed into the IV pump in normal mode or calc mode, or which drugs are dependent on patient weight and which aren't. But if I start teaching myself what the drugs I commonly see are used for, then when I actually see that drug in the field, that info will pop into my head, followed by how to program it into the IV pump, whether it's normal or calc, weight-based or not.
I have Epocrates installed on my handheld, as it's the best I've come across so far, being that it's the only I've come across so far...
